Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Wheeling

WHEELING, a city and county-seat of Ohio co., W. Va.; on the Ohio river, and on the Wheeling and Lake Erie, the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St.

Louis, the Ohio River, the Baltimore and Ohio, and the Wheeling and Lake Erie railroads; 65 miles S. W. of Pittsburgh, Pa. Part of the city is on an island in the river, connected with the main part by bridges. Here are a United States Government building, court house, public library, Masonic and Odd Fellows' halls, Wheeling and city hospitals, waterworks, street railroad and electric light plants, National, State, and savings banks, and a number of daily, weekly, and monthly periodicals. Manufacturing is greatly promoted by the natural gas and bituminous coal found abundantly in the vicinity. The principal plants include steel and iron works, blast furnaces, glass factories, tobacco and cigar factories, foundries, boiler works, stove works, canneries, ice factory, machine shops, brass foundry, planing mills, etc. Wheeling was settled in 1769, and was the scene of battles with the British and Indians during the Revolutionary War. In 1863-1870, and in 1875-1885 it was the State capital. Pop. (1910) 41,641; (1920) 56,208.